Color does not exist in the real world; it exists only in the perception of humans. Objects reflect many different wavelengths of light, which have no color. Color vision was developed as a way to tell the difference between the various wavelengths or light. Color processing involves two stages, first, the receptoral stage accomplished by three classes of cones, referred to as red, green, and blue, in the human retina. The receptors red, green and blue have peak absorption in the long (Lλ=565 nm), medium (Mλ=530 nm) and short (Sλ=450 nm) wavelength (λ) of light, respectively. These cone receptors mediate color discrimination but do not code the perception of a single color. The cones are packed in the fovea region of the retina, where the center of visual field projects. In primates, two main types of retinal ganglions are distinguished, M and P. The P ganglion cells project to parvocellular (small) neurons and the M ganglion cells project to magnocellular (large) neurons in the lateral geniculate nucleus. Most P cells are color sensitive but M cells are not. The function of these three primary-color receptors in the eye and their neural connections, the P neurons, is to convey color information. In primates, optic nerve fibers from the left half of each retina (left visual field) project to the left lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus and fibers from the right half of each retina (right visual field) project to the right lateral geniculate nucleus. The crossing of the fibers takes place at the optic chiasm, the point at which the two optic nerves join. The fibers from the retinas to the chiasm are called optic nerves and those from the chiasm to the central nervous system are called optic tracts. The second stage of color processing is called the post-receptoral neural processing stage, where color opponency occurs. Color opponency refers to the capability of some neural cells to demonstrate chromatically and spatially opponent characteristics, which facilitate computation of simultaneous color contrast. De Valois described in a book titled “Spatial vision” published in New York by Oxford University Press, 1990, that many neurons in the visual thalamus, the lateral geniculate body, were opponent-process color-coding cells. The color-responsive P cells project via the lateral geniculate nucleus to the cortical blobs in the striate cortex area V1, and pre-striate area V4. Simultaneous color contrast suggests that, surrounding colors may influence perceived color as described by Albers J. in a hook titled “Interaction of color.” published in New Haven, Conn. by Yale University Press, pages 20-21, 1963. It has been postulated that gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) modulates the color-opponent bipolar cells either through activating GABA receptors (GABA(A) and GABA(C)) on these cells directly or those on cone terminals indirectly, as described by Zhang D Q and Yang X L in an article titled “GABA modulates color-opponent bipolar cells in carp retina” published in Brain Research 1998, volume 792, pages 319-323. There is differential modulation by GABA of different postsynaptic mechanisms, respectively mediating signal transfer from R-cones and S-cones to the L-type horizontal cells. Furthermore, the dual action of GABA persisted in the dopamine-depleted retina, indicating no involvement of the dopaminergic interplexiform cells, as described by Xu H and Yang X in an article titled “GABA enhances short-wavelength-sensitive cone input and reduces red cone input to carp L-type horizontal cells,” published in Brain Research Bulletin, 2000, volume 51, pages 493-497. This may suggest that neurons with the neurotransmitter GABA or GABAergic neurons mediate color opponent processing in the brain. In other words, a test of color opponent processing may provide a direct evidence of GABAergic function in the human brain. Another related phenomenon is color constancy, which refers to the ability to determine the color of an object independent of illumination conditions as described by Land E H and McCann J J in an article titled “Lightness and retinex theory.” published in Journal of Optical Society of America 1971, volume 61, pages 1-11. Color constancy maybe mediated by “double opponent” cells as described by Daw N, in an article titled “Goldfish retina: organization for simultaneous color contrast,” published in Science 1968, volume 158, pages 942-944; and by Livingstone M S, and Hubel D H in an article titled “Anatomy and physiology of a color system in the primate visual cortex,” published in the Journal of Neuroscience 1984, volume 4, pages 309-356. Double opponency refers to the characteristics of a cell to respond to red and be inhibited by green in the center of its field but be excited by green and inhibited by red in the surround portion of the receptive field. Double opponent cells may act as “wavelength differencing system”. The neurons in the blobs in V1 project to regions of area V2 termed “thin stripes” and from there to a color selective area identified as V4, as described by Zeki S in a hook titled “A vision of the brain, plate 16,” published in Cambridge Mass. by Blackwell Scientific, in 1993. In the human brain, the color space includes a red versus green axis, a blue versus yellow axis, and in the luminance space, a white versus black axis as described by Conway B R in an article titled “Spatial structure of cone inputs to color cells in alert macaque primary visual cortex (V1),” published in the Journal of Neuroscience 2001, volume 21, pages 2768-2783; also described by Dacey D M and Lee B B in an article titled “The ‘blue on’ opponent pathway in primate retina originates from distinct bistratified ganglion cell type.” published in Nature 1994, volume 367, pages 731-735. The cells of visual cortex have a columnar organization. Comparable regions of the retina project to the same region of the visual cortex. There are several visual areas (probably more than 32) in the human brain designated as V1, V2, V3, V4 and so on. Area V1 corresponds to original primary visual cortex mapped to the retina. The V1 provides input to V2, and V1 and V2 provide input to V3, and so on—that is, there is progressive funneling of visual information. The secondary visual areas respond equally well to input from both eyes. As both eyes focus on a near object, the image of the object falls over a slightly different region of the retinas of the two eyes. This retinal disparity, reflected in differing responses of the binocular cells of the secondary visual areas, is the major visual cue of three dimensions. Binocular interaction is another characteristic of the V1 area of the visual cortex. In the lateral geniculate nucleus every neuron receives their inputs from only one eye. The V1 neurons receive inputs from corresponding parts of the retina of both eyes. Binocular interaction does not occur at earlier levels due to stereopsis, the perception of depth, which relies on shifts in the position of the two eyes when focusing on objects at different distances. The latter is one clue the brain uses for depth perception. However, by creating a predominantly one visual field input of color stimulation during binocular view, the perception of depth by binocular interaction could be precluded. Since it would be inappropriate to mix the inputs from both eyes in a single neuron, before the information of color vision has been extracted as described by Regan D in a book titled “Spatial vision,” published in London by Macmillan in 1991, pages 135-178. The projections from the retina to the visual cortex are highly organized. Neighboring regions of the retina make connections with neighboring geniculate cells. The left lateral geniculate nucleus has six layers that project to layer IV of the left visual cortex, and all six layers of the right lateral geniculate nucleus project to the right visual cortex. The inputs from the different layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus to the visual cortex are segregated so that a given cell in layer IV of the visual cortex receives input from one eye or the other but not from both. They cells of layer IV of the visual cortex are organized in columns in such a way that one column will respond to the left eye, an adjacent column will respond to the right eye. Moreover, cells receiving their only, or main input from one eye are also grouped together within the same area extending from the upper to lower cortical layers often referred to as an ocular dominance column. This characteristic is pronounced in the color selective area V4 which initially receives the input from the lateral geniculate nucleus. Two neighboring ocular dominance columns, representing both eyes each with its entire set of orientation columns, has been called a hypercolumn, as described by Gouras P in a book titled “The Perception of Colour volume 6—Vision and Dysfunction,” published in England by Macmillan, in 1991, pages 179-197. Whereas the M cells of the retina project mainly to the posterior parietal cortex or dorsal stream for specialization in location of objects in space (where things are), the P cells project to inferotemporal cortex or ventral stream concerned with object vision (what things are). The secondary visual area V6 and visual-temporal area (TE) in the ventral stream respond to shape. The separation of M and P cells though not complete is important, since a thorough test of color perception should be concerned with identifying what things are by their colors but not by their shape or by location, in the post-receptoral stage, as well as discerning failure of receptoral input. These prerequisites for an ideal color test is not met by any existing color testing system in healthy subjects or in patients as would be evident in the brief review below.
Color vision abnormalities could occur at the first receptoral stage or second post-receptoral neural processing stage. At the receptor stage there are three types of color vision deficiencies: protanopia, deutanopia and tritanopia, corresponding to an absence or malfunctioning oblong, medium, and short wavelength-sensitive cone photoreceptors, respectively. The color defect called anomalous trichromacy is characterized by abnormal spectral absorption of the R receptor photopigment (protanomalous trichromat) or of the G receptor photopigment (deuteranomalous trichromat). Anomalous trichromat still require 3 primary colors in a mixture to perform color matching however, their ratio is abnormal compared to healthy subjects. Another form of color vision defects, called dichromacy, is characterized by an absence of the R receptor photopigment (protanope) or absence of the G receptor photopigment (deuteranope). Protanopes and deuteranopes require only two primary colors in a mixture to perform color matching. On the other hand, relative to the normal match, protanomalous trichromats add too much red to the mixture and deuteranomalous trichromats add too much green to the mixture. Protanopes match the red alone to the yellow, while deuteranopes match green only to the yellow, and any ratio of red to green in a mixture to yellow. Protanopes are insensitive to red light, that is, red light appears dimmer than yellow or green lights that look the same in brightness to normal observers. Deuteranopes have the same sensitivity to colors as normal subjects do.
Lesions of the post-receptoral stage of color processing are common in clinical practice. They implicate lesions of the visual pathways and impaired performance on color tasks in patients with hemispheric damage. Acquired color vision defects could commonly occur in patients with optic nerve disease such as retrobulbar optic neuritis caused by compression or toxic and demyelinating lesions as reviewed in detail by Griffin J F and Wray S H in an article titled “Acquired color vision defects in retrobulbar neuritis.” published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, 1978, volume 86, pages 193-201; and also by Linksz A, in an article titled “The clinical characteristics of acquired color defects,” published in a hook edited by Staatsma B R, Hall M O, and Allen R A titled “The Retina, Morphology, Function and Clinical Characteristics.” Berkley, University of California Press, 1969, pages 553-592. Lesions due to hemispheric damage have been described by De Renzi E and Spinnler H in an article titled “Impaired performance of color tasks in patients with hemispheric damage,” published in the journal Cortex, 1967, volume 3 and pages 194-217. These include central dyschromatopsia, color agnosia, color aphasia and color amnesia. These pathologies are not well understood. Central dyschromatopsia is defined as impairment of color perception following a hemispheric lesion. Hemidyschromatopsia has been reported to follow hemianopia in the recovery stages from central optic pathway damage and to precede it in progressive disease. Some patients with apparently unilateral lesion may show contralateral hemianopia and ipsilateral dyschromatopsia. Patients with color agnosia but no dyschromatopsia, fail to name a color even though not aphasic or only mildly aphasic. The patient makes errors when asked to point to the color corresponding to a named object and, when presented with the drawing of an object colored incorrectly, shows a tendency to give the name of the typical color and not of the actual color, for example, a patient might say that a red colored leaf is green. Color aphasic patients make errors in naming or pointing to colors even though they do not have any perceptual defects and are not aphasic. Geschwind N and Fusillo M described in an article titled “Color-naming defects in association with alexia,” in the journal Archives of Neurology, 1966, volume 15, pages 137-146, patients were said to have lesions of the left calcarine region (and hence produces right hemianopia) and the fibers of the splenium. As a consequence of the callosal damage, visual stimuli, received from the right calcarine region are prevented from reaching the speech area in the left hemisphere and a disconnection syndrome between visual perception and language occurs. This disconnection can be overcome in the case where the patient has to name objects, because the sight of object arouses somaesthetic associations in anterior parts of the right hemisphere, from which connections are available to the speech area over intact parts of the corpus callosum. By contrast, colors (and letters) do not arouse any somaesthetic association and thus cannot reach the speech area. Color amnesia is involved whenever the patient is required to recall the color of an object, whether by saying it or pointing to it taking into consideration interference from aphasia in the first case. Color amnesia is present when a patient uses wrong colors to paint common objects, for example using blue for cherries and strawberries instead of red.
Inherited color defect in the X chromosome occur in about 8% of men and 0.2% of women. Color defects could be used as marker genes for certain diseases such as bipolar disorders, which are also located on the X chromosome. Genes that have similar loci on a chromosome show linkage, that is, during cell division, chromosomes break and swap pieces, but genes that are close together still remain together. The color-blindness gene and the bipolar gene are linked. It has also been suggested that the bipolar-disorder gene is linked to Xga, the gene for another disorder called ocular albinism. The locus of the bipolar-disorder on the X chromosome appears to be between the Xga and the color-blindness genes. Chromosome marker studies are still recent and the use of color defects as markers has not been developed. Case studies may be used to illustrate these linkages, assuming that bipolar affective disorder can be inherited as a sex-linked recessive trait or as an autosomal recessive trait. This case inquiry involves two families: the Njokus and Ezes. Both families are afflicted with bipolar disorder as well as red-green color blindness. In the Njoku family 5 individuals suffer from both bipolar disorder and color blindness. If bipolar disorder and color blindness are both linked on the X chromosome as aforementioned, the mode of inheritance for these 5 individuals must be sex-linked recessive. It has also been observed that restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP's) are associated with bipolar disorder, as well as linkage to chromosome 11 and to chromosome 18. Therefore further evidence of X-linkage would be the presence of RFLP's on the X chromosomes of these 5 individuals. Three individuals in the Njoku family are carriers of the disorder. They are the only ones who do not have the disorder but hear children who have the disorder. In the Eze family 3 individuals suffer from bipolar affective disorder. Four individuals have color blindness. The mode on inheritance in this family must be autosomal recessive. The evidence for this is that 3 out of four individuals with color blindness do not have bipolar disorder. Furthermore, all of the individuals with bipolar disorder show the presence of RFLP's on chromosome 11. Also one of the individuals in the family who does not have bipolar disorder possesses RFLP on chromosome 11 and has a child with bipolar disorder. If Njoku III2 marries Eze III8, a male child of theirs has a 27% chance of expressing bipolar affective disorder (since one parent has the disorder). Performing this type of tracing of inheritance patterns of bipolar affective disorder could be difficult, since some individuals who are carriers may not show any sign of the disorder. Also, some families with forms of the disorder may not have any of the genes thought to cause the disorder. The present problem is that bipolar disorder loci proposed are not specific enough to allow gene isolation and capture studies. A productive approach is to use some marker for screening large number of bipolar families and subjecting the data to genetic analysis using efficient evolutionary system coding.
Evolutionary systems contain large unstructured search spaces where no heuristics exists to guide the search. One way to reduce search time is to have the system learn more efficient problem specific coding containing minimal genotype size while at the same time not excluding potential solutions and producing small number of illegal solutions. To attain this type of precision, an evolutionary system identifies successful combinations of low-level (basic) genes and combines them into higher-level (complex) genes. Genes evolve in ever-lasting complexity, thus encoding a higher number of the original basic genes resulting in a continuous restructuring of the search space and allowing potential solutions to be identified in a shorter time. The present invention provides use of colors, which comprise several options (about 10 million separate colors are identifiable by the human eye) that could be matched to a network of genes presumably implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders. The latter may lead to identification of a variety of genes and their combinations in a network. It could be presumed that even when genes involved in perception of primary colors (red, blue and green) are normal, defects may arise in gene expression implicated in color mixing of the primary colors to secondary colors (for example yellow, magenta, cyan). In other words, the networking of genes controlling a behavioral trait known as epistasis, could be traced from the behavior implying a reverse epistasis to reveal abnormalities of gene network control. The potential for target stimulation of the brain to activate intrinsic genetic cascades mediated through several known systems for example, medium spiny neurons of the nucleus accumbens would find preventive and therapeutic applications for the present invention in medicine. This approach is hereby named spectrochromatographic prophylaxis and therapy. The latter implies that using the present invention, color wavelengths could be identified that have inhibitory effects for prevention of seizures and could be used to color spectacles or contact eye lens. In other conditions such as depression, both stimulatory and inhibitory effects of colors on blood flow would be useful and Once identified with the present invention could be used to color spectacles or contact eye lens. In other conditions such as acute or chronic pain therapy, selected wavelength of color using the present invention could be used to stimulate endogenous opioids in the brain to achieve anesthesia. A new approach for treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases which is based on immunologic stimulation could be achieved with the present invention.
Both color opponent processing and anxiety neurosis may be linked. The benzodizepines (BDZ) specifically ease anxiety and panic attacks but are of little help in schizophrenia and may even make depression worse. The benzodiazipine receptors seem to exist together with the GABA receptor implicated in opponent color processing. The current concept suggests that activation of the BDZ receptor by a benzodiazepine acts via intermediary molecule to increase either the binding of GABA molecule to the GABA receptor or the coupling between GABA receptor and the chloride channel, or both as described in a hook by Thompson R F titled “The Brain: a neuroscience primer”, 3rd edition published in New York by Worth publishers pages 81-117, 2000. The link between color opponent responses and long-term psychostimulant abuse may be mediated by action of retinoic acid on H2 type horizontal cells. Following retinoic acid treatment, H2-type horizontal cells of dark-adapted retina became color-opponent and performed depolarizing responses to long-wavelength stimulation as described in an article by Pottek M and Weiler R titled “Light-adaptive effects of retinoic acid on receptive field properties of retinal horizontal cells”, published in European Journal of Neuroscience, 2004, volume 12, Page 437. The signaling pathway using nuclear retinoic acid receptors has been implicated in medium spiny neuron gene expression in the ventral striatum as described in an article by McGinty J F in an article titled “Regulation of neurotransmitter interaction in the ventral striatum,” published in a hook by McGinty J F titled “Advancing from the ventral striatum to the extended amygdala,” in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, volume 877, pages 129-139, 1999. It is plausible that the effect of colors used in the present invention could change receptor sensitivity and tune off “cravings” in drug abuse. Furthermore, there is integration of postsynaptic glutamatergic, dopamine D1 and D2, and muscarinic receptor signals which trigger changes in gene expression in response to stimuli, such as drugs of abuse, which activate these systems. Stimulation of D1 dopamine receptors triggers the induction of immediate early genes (IEG) and the phosphorylation of cyclase response element binding protein (CREB) by activating multiple signal transduction cascades in medium spiny neurons. The latter cascades and the various neuronal networks that could be activated presumably using colors of specific wavelengths over the entire extended amygdala and ventral striatum to the hypothalamus-pituitary axis have applications in several medical, neurologic and neuropsychiatric conditions such as immune depression, hyperthyroidism, Cushing syndrome, diabetes, other endocrinological conditions, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, depression, insomnia, schizophrenia, psychosis and others. It could be presumed that using the present invention selective wavelengths could be identified that produce desirable effects on psychostimulation that would find application of use in drug abuse rehabilitation and treatment. Depression is associated with cerebral hypoperfusion as described by Tiemeier H, Bakker S. L. M., Hofman A., Koudstaal P. J., Breteler M. M. B. in an article titled “Cerebral hemodynamics and depression in the elderly,” published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, volume 73, pages 34-39, in 2002. It would be desirable to have optical materials that could stimulate cerebral blood flow velocity to prefrontal cortex supplied by the MCAs in depression. Similarly, light passed through optical materials with appropriate wavelengths could act on suprachiasmatic nucleus and through interaction with the pineal gland and release of melatonin could have effect of sleep patterns.
The macular region of the “color centers” in the visual cortex V4 derive blood supply from both the calcarine branch of the posterior cerebral artery (PCA) and branches of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) as described by Till J S, in an article titled “Ophthalmologic aspects of cerebrovascular disease”, in a book titled “Cerebrovascular Disorders” and edited by J F Toole, published by Raven Press in New York in 1984, pages 231-250. Furthermore, perfusion of most of the visual associative areas of the ventral stream derives supply from the MCA, while the primary visual area V1 is supplied by the PCA. Each of these major cerebral arteries of the circle of Willis comprising the anterior cerebral artery (ACA), the MCA and PCA, is divided into the cortical and ganglionic (subcortical) branches. The cortical branches of the PCA comprise the occipitotemporal arteries that supply the primary and some secondary visual regions, for example, the calcarine artery supplying the visual area V4 is mentioned above. The ganglionic branches comprise the thalamogeniculate arteries which supply the visual pathways of lateral geniculate nucleus. The MCA cortical branches comprising the anterior, middle and posterior temporal arteries supply the temporal lobe secondary visual areas as well as providing the calcarine branch that supplies the V4 area. The MCA gives the ganglionic branches that comprise the lenticulostriate arteries. It therefore follows that, by discerning blood flow to each specific region of the cortical and ganglionic branches of the visual pathways, processes at the second stage centers could be elucidated. Changes related to failure of receptoral input will be evident by the “fallout” of the effects of the related wavelength at cortical and subcortical sites.
The examination of color wavelength processing has been undertaken by Njemanze P C, Gomez C R and Horenstein S, in an article entitled “Cerebral lateralization and color perception: a transcranial Doppler study,” published in a journal Cortex, 1992 volume 28, pages 69-75. The work by Njemanze et al (1992) showed that passive viewing of colors evoked mean blood flow velocity (MFV) changes using transcranial Doppler (TCD) technique. The TCD technique has been described in detail by Aaslid R in a book entitled “Transcranial Doppler Sonography” published in Wien by Springer Verlag, in 1986. In an article by Njemanze P C titled “Asymmetry of cerebral blood flow velocity response to color processing and hemodynamic changes during −6 degrees 24-hour head-down bed rest in men,” published in Journal of Gravitational Physiology, 2005, volume 12 pages 33-41, it was demonstrated that light passed through Wratten color filters elicited MFV changes in the right MCA in men and showed opponent responses for blue versus yellow, and white versus black axes of color space. This opponent processing could be even further differentially characterized at subcortical and cortical areas using a new technique called functional transcranial Doppler spectroscopy (fTCDS). The fTCDS has been described in an article by Njemanze P C titled “Cerebral lateralization for facial processing: Gender-related cognitive styles determined using Fourier analysis of mean cerebral blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral arteries,” published in the journal Laterality, 2007, volume 12, pages 31-49. fTCDS applies Fourier analysis to MFV data to discern changes related to visual processing at the cortical region and that at the subcortical region, offering opportunity to characterize the changes in the visual pathways from that at cortical processing centers.
Color defects are usually evaluated using ‘book tests’ such as the Ishihara pseudoisochromatic tests as described by Ishihara S in a manual titled “Tests for Colour-Blindness” published in Tokyo by Kanehara Shuppen, in 1971. There are 15 plates of the Ishihara test presented to each eye. Color vision is regarded as normal if 13 or more plates were read normally. Another test is the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue test. The latter requires that the patient rearrange 85 randomly presented color chips in a regular color sequence as described by Farnsworth D in a manual titled “The Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Flue test for the examination of color discrimination.”, published in Baltimore by Munsell Color Co., Inc., in 1957, pages 2-7. Acquired color defects are diagnosed based on tests of color matching using an apparatus called anomaloscope. The latter involves use of a bipartite field whereby, a spectrally pure yellow light in one half is matched to the other half with a mixture of red primary and green primary. Such an anomaloscope has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,099 to Grolman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,898 to Massa, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,006 to Menozzi. Other design modifications have been proposed, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,376 to Ledl describes a rotating disc or slides with pairs of test panels of different colors and transluminated by light source having a given color temperature to the subject tested. However, as with other prior art techniques, the examination relies on subject verbal feedback and some manual cooperation, which may be difficult to obtain in most patients with stroke or other neurological impairments by way of example. Given the verbal and manual cooperation, investigators have to obtain from subjects while using prior art, subjects require intact manipulospatial and language skills.
The examination by means of prior art, do not test all stages of color perception. In addition, the equipment is usually complex and not well adapted for patient use, challenging the patient with use of manipulospatial skills and higher order intelligence, which compound tests of just color vision. On the other hand the clinician requires special engineering skills to use the equipment with several man-hours lost in preparation and execution of tests. The results of the ‘book tests’ are highly complex to interpret and lack specificity of what exactly is tested and at which level of the color vision pathway could a lesion be uncovered. The prior art lacks specificity for testing and follow-up of patients with stroke lesions since the findings cannot pin-point the exact level of color vision where there is damage. The prior art is limited when it is necessary to examine color responses in brain rehabilitation process to uncover neuroplasticity, that is, ability to resume brain function after incapacitation. The prior art of anomaloscopes lack portability and by such, are not well adapted for use in space for astronauts in whom color perception could be used to examine adaptive behavioral processes. The prior art because of lack of specificity could not be applied to genetic analysis.
The problem of investigation of the color perception is solved by the system of the present invention. The solution is based on the neurophysiology of color processing in the human brain. Color information processed by opponent mechanisms implicating GABA neurotransmitters at the receptoral and neural phases activates primary visual area V1, V2, V3 and ‘color specific’ area V4 perfused by the PCA and MCA, with changes in the blood flow velocity in these arteries. The information channeled through cortico-subcortical pathways along the ventral stream enter the ventral striatum where they activate multiple signal transduction cascades in medium spiny neurons of nucleus accumbens, which in neuropsychiatric disorders cause abnormal opponent responses to short-wavelength versus medium- or long-wavelength. Opponent response is considered to be present when the differences in effects on MFV or its spectral density estimates for a pair of colors comprising short wavelength and the other medium or long-wavelength, is statistically significant or shows such a tendency. The invention consists of a method to provide a map of opponent mechanism at cortical and subcortical regions of each vascular territory of the circle of Willis. Such a map could be displayed as two joined squares or dominos for each color, showing accentuation state in shade (paved square) and attenuation state as unshaded area (unpaved square). One pair of domino could be used to represent two colors that display opponent mechanisms that is, activation or increased MFV as paved square but inhibition or decreased MFV as unpaved square. fTCDS permits even more detailed resolution, that is, using two sets of dominos side by side (tetramino) to show opponent mechanism for one pair of the colors at the cortical and subcortical regions, respectively. The map would show abnormalities of color opponent mechanism characteristic of a given neuropsychiatric condition. The information could be used in conjunction with clinical data to reveal genetic predisposition for such conditions as bipolar depression that may have genetic linkages to color vision defects. The map when used in conjunction with genetic analysis may reveal an efficient evolutionary system coding that could be applied to search for new genes. The present invention could be used to select colors that could cause inhibition of brain activity such as in photosensitive epilepsy and other types of seizures.
Prior art utilizes very expensive and complex electronics to produce colors and relics on subjective responses for evaluation. They are mainly comparative color tests using one color as fixed to compare to a variable color, rather than testing color processing opponent mechanism. Another obvious disadvantage is that complex electronics with even slight fluctuations in voltage would produce complex visual attributes of color such as hue, saturation, lightness (or value), brilliancy (or clearness), color efficiency (or vividness) that are discernable by the human visual system, resulting in inconsistencies. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,580 to Murr and U.S. Pat. No. 7,128,418 to Sachtler describe color vision testing apparatus that includes complex electronics such a cathode ray tube for producing the primary colors and microprocessor for photo-detection of signals. The prior art is imprecise in testing of color perception mechanisms and rather makes simplistic assumptions that color mixing could be impaired, and thus is designed to compare a fixed color hue to a variable color hue. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,771 to Piringer, U.S. Pat. No. 3,801,188 to Hunt, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,006 to Menozzi describes methods for conducting a color discrimination vision test that includes displaying a test object comprised of two separate fields wherein one field has a fixed color hue and the other field has a variable color hue.